Shrine of Nossa Senhora da Encarnação (Carvoeiro)

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The Shrine of Nossa Senhora da Encarnação (Our Lady of the Incarnation) is a small shrine situated in the freguesia Carvoeiro, in the concelho of Lagoa (Algarve), in Portugal.

We do not know when the shrine was built in the interior of an entrenched polygonal-plan fortification, built to protect the populace from frequent assaults and plundering by pirates. During and after the 1755 Earthquake the fort itself suffered extensive damage such that it was finally deactivated in 1861, in view of its high level of decay.

All that currently remains of the fort is its gate, surmounted by a stone lintel on which is written the date of construction.

The shrine itself has been subject to innumerable renovations and restorations. Worth mentioning in the shrine are two images: the patron saint (Our Lady of the Incarnation) dated to the 17th century; and the Crucifixion, attributed to the 19th century.